I'd like to take a moment to thank all the little
people, without whom this would have never been possible...

What I mean to say is that it's in everyone's best
interest to support those who support us...Right? Right.
Of course it is. Which is why I try to get my parts & supplies
locally, so that these shops will survive, & be here tomorrow.
There's no doubt that every service that a racer could want is not always
available right outside the front door, so I wont lie & say that
everything I get, I get down the street. But the locals always get the
first shot, before I turn to the on-line guys or magazine ads.

Anyway, I believe that if a shop does me good I should let
everybody know so you all can get the best parts / service possible.

And, of course, along with that goes, I believe, the
responsibility to let you folks know about the shops that...uh...don't
share the same pure love for this sport that we do. If ya know what I mean.
The ones that don't have time to talk about a problem with yer scoot, or
wont come a penny off retail, even though you spend a million dollars a
week there cause they're the only 'XYZ' dealer in town, & they
know it. Worse even are those that perform a service that you can't see or
verify, like a port job or a suspension re-valve, and either do a crap
job, or don't do anything but charge you hundreds for nothing.

Now then, don't get the wrong Idea, Patman has no
sponsors on this page,
nobody here on this page pays me to say their name here. But I think that you'll find that
most of the shops around the Dallas area will extend a little charity, er,
that is a small price cut, to ya if ya let 'em know you're a racer, and
show a little loyalty to their business.

Having said that, I need to say a word about
Dion, & John,
down at Bates Discount Motorcycle Parts on I-35 in Dallas.
(972.620.0929 ) In
fifteen years of dealing with these people, they've never done me wrong.
They sell just about every aftermarket part or accessory imaginable, for
any bike. I mean any bike. If they don't stock what you want, they
can get it. Dion can mount a knobby in 46 seconds, almost. Their
price is fair. They got used ( pre owned ) parts. They got
race gas. And the best part is, they've been there as long as I can
remember.

The last few bikes, I've purchased, came from Honda / Suzuki
North also on I-35 in Dallas. Though
the stuff they sell is more specialized ( duh, Hondas & Suzukis ), the
guys there, (from parts to sales to service) have done me right for
years.

There's one other shop I deal with here in the Dallas Area, and
that's North Texas Yamaha,
again on I-35 up in Lewisville. Harold, is the guy that runs the
place, & even though I've never bought a bike from him, he takes care
of us racers OK, and has great race gas, and a dyno in house. Of course
they do Yamahas, but even when I had an ATK they got me a lot of parts at
a good price. Oh yeah, and if ya think the Yamaha graphics are ...bland,
check out Harolds NTY graphics pack !

Paul up at Max
Power Cylinders in Madison, Wisconsin, did an awesome job of
overboring & re-coating the cylinder of my RMX, and they gave me a
great port job, and power-valve service too. They had the job done
quickly, supplied all the parts & gaskets I needed ( even special
stuff that they had to search for, in order to do secret Patman
mods ). He, (they ) also provided great telephone / e-mail support, with
jetting & so on after I got it installed. Good Guys !

Now then, Pro
Privateer in
Haltom City did my suspension, and ( as my backside will attest to )
screwed it up. I took it
back to them twice, & they only made it worse. What I paid for was the
famous RACE TECH GOLD VALVE KIT. Though I can't say for
sure, it is my opinion, that they installed old, or used, parts, and never
really installed the whole kit...or any of it for that matter. I know that they
left internal nuts loose ( this I saw ). The fork kit I paid them to
install was only partially done about 30%, ( there was
However, a Race Tech valve in there though it was oxidized so badly, that it had turned very
dark brown, almost black ) and they didn't even use the supplied shims, they just
re-used what they had on the shelf, I have no Idea what
happened to the rest of the parts in the kit.

The shock was almost as
bad, they had put in the Gold Valve, & it was set up for two stage
valving, but the shims between the two stages were so stiff, that only the
first stage was working, & a hard hit would blow right past the second
stage.

I would have never known that this is why I couldn't get my suspension set
up, had I not taken it to another shop for a fork seal. This other
shop ( thankfully ) recognized the problem, added the remaining
parts contained in the kits, and performed the work that Pro Privateer had
neglected.

Pro
Privateer
refused to refund my money, Saying that the kit that they ( did or didn't
) install, wasn't supposed to have all the parts used that I thought, or
the cartridge mods performed.

So, thinking that maybe I
had made a mistake, I called the manufacturer
of the kit, ( Race Tech ) & found that not only has the kit ALWAYS supposed to have
been completely installed, but also that PRO PRIVATEER is NOT a
service center for them, ( according to the phone rep ) or the suspension parts that they claim to be a
service center for....
Beware!

( though I believe that I
originally found Pro Privateer while doing a search for "Race Tech
Centers", so perhaps they were at one time )

Race Tech makes excellent
suspension kits, but beware of who installs the kit!

My wife Carole. She packs my ice chest before the races, makes
emergency runs to the store for carb cleaner, washes my dirty race gear,
takes care of the boy while I'm racin', and makes sure I get a hot meal,
& a hotter shower on Sunday nite. She used to ride a KX 80,
around with us, then later a very hot CR125, but, now she does a lot of
support work on a Kawasaki four wheeler. Carole, You're the best.

And Last but certainly not least ( you'll see why ), is my boss
Willard Kelley. He's been an avid motorcyclist for more years than me.
He's ridden MX, Enduro, Dirt Track ( with well know dignitaries &
movie stars ), and streetbikes. He is currently riding the
national trials events around the country...and may podium his
class. I think Willard is about a hundred. ( Just kiddin' )
"He don't make me do no work, lets me off on Wednesdays to practice,
insists I leave early on Fridays, so as to have time to pack, and twice a
month gives me money to race on! Thanks Man. Good luck in the
Nationals !